Agenda - Council Work Session - 01/10/2012

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Chapter 6 —Project Selection A. First Rounds - Application Requirements All applicants statewide must meet one of the threshold types as defined in Article 6.2 of the QAP. Greater Minnesota projects should also refer to the sample Threshold Letter in the Housing Tax Credits Reference Materials section for a suggested letter format relating to evidencing thresholds. Cautionary note: in meeting the requirements of thresholds, fractions of units are not counted as a whole unit. Where unit percentage calculations result in a fraction of a unit being required, the fraction of a unit must be rounded up to next whole unit. In the final competition, projects that previously received an allocation of tax credits will receive priority in accordance with the provisions of Article 6.5 of the QAP. B. Scoring To efficiently and effectively process the large quantity of applications submitted, Minnesota Housing will first rank proposals in accordance with the Selection Priorities and Preference Points (Self Scoring Worksheet) and, if necessary, Chapter 6.0 Tie -Breakers, below. The highest-ranking proposals based on the Selection Priorities and Preference Points will then be reviewed in accordance with the following Project Selection requirements described in D through J of this Chapter. Lower ranking proposals will only be processed further if tax credit volume cap remains available after the higher -ranking proposals are processed. C. Tie Breakers If two or more proposals have an equal number of points, the following will be used to determine selection: 1. First tie breaker: priority will be given to the project with the greater number of points in Preference Priority criteria; if a tie still remains; 2. Second tie breaker: priority will be given to a project located in a city that has not received tax credits in the last two years; if a tie still remains; 3. Third tie breaker: priority will be given to the project with the highest "Percentage of Funds Committed" as measured by the Selection Priority category of Readiness to Proceed; if a tie still remains; 4. Fourth tie breaker: priority will be given to the project with the lowest percentage of intermediary costs; if a tie still remains; 5. Fifth tie breaker will be by lot. D. Market Review Minnesota Housing will conduct a market review to determine the housing needs of low-income individuals in the area to be served by the project. Minnesota Housing will evaluate the completed HTC Market Qualification Form, the Market Study and in-house occupancy data to determine the marketability of the proposed project. For market consideration, applicants are responsible for providing evidence to document any new employment in the community at the time of application. Minnesota Housing relies heavily on the applicant for current information regarding housing need and job/economic growth within specified jurisdictions. Minnesota Housing may contact the applicant if there is a question as to the marketability of the proposed projects. The applicant may be given an opportunity to adjust the unit mix and/or number of units and resubmit prior to Minnesota Housing scoring of selection priority points. 29 12012 Housing Tax Credit Procedural Manual Rev. 04/2011